Gas prices have been steadily declining since February. The
average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in April was down
8 percent from the same month in 2012. Meanwhile, housing has
emerged as a bright spot in the U.S. economy.

"Relatively lower gas prices coupled with small business
demand improving for trucks resulted in a strong showing for
small and large pickups in April, a trend we expect to see
strengthen even further for the rest of 2013," TrueCar.com
analyst Jesse Toprak said.

The U.S. auto industry's annual selling rate will be 15.25
million vehicles in April, according to economists polled by
Thomson Reuters. This would mark the sixth month that the sales
rate has held above 15 million.

Automakers report April U.S. auto sales on May 1.

Large pickup truck sales rose 26 percent in April compared
to the same month last year, the largest jump of any major
vehicle segment and more than double the industry's overall auto
sales increase during the month, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Sales of compact crossovers, such as the Ford Escape and
Honda Motor Co's CR-V, shot up 23 percent. Together, trucks and
crossovers account for nearly a quarter of the U.S. auto market
in April, up from about 21 percent a year ago, KBB data show.

Truck sales may push General Motors Co's U.S. market
share to 18 percent in April, up from about 17 percent in March.

GM is expected to shrink its inventory of large trucks to
make room for its new lineup of pickups to be introduced over
the next two months. The largest U.S. automaker is expected to
have 96 days worth of supply of its trucks, down from the 117
days in March, Barclay Capital analyst Brian Johnson said.

Both GM and Ford Motor Co are expected to post slight
gains in U.S. market share in April compared to the previous
year, according to auto research firm Edmunds.com. Toyota Motor
Corp and Honda are expected to show a drop in share.

PRICING DISCIPLINE TESTED BY YEN

The overall strength in the U.S. auto market coincides with
rising vehicle prices, according to J.D. Power and Associates.
During the first four months of the year, prices on new vehicles
rose 3.1 percent for an additional $13.2 billion in revenue.

Rising prices are the result of new vehicle designs, but
also a newfound discipline among automakers to refrain from
lavishing incentives that hurt resale values.

Nearly 60 percent of U.S. dealers surveyed by RBC Capital
Markets said incentives in April were in line with the previous
month's levels. Just 53 percent said the same in March.

U.S. auto executives, including Ford Chief Executive Alan
Mulally, have raised concerns about the weak Japanese yen, which
is trading at just under 98 to the U.S. dollar, compared to 78
at the start of October.

The weak yen gives Japanese automakers like Toyota more room
to offer richer incentives and lower prices. But rather than cut
prices, Japanese rivals are more likely to make entertainment
and navigation features more widely available on their vehicles,
Barclay's Johnson said.

"One thing that we're going to have to watch very closely is
what happens competitively as the Japanese competitors are able
to benefit from the weak yen," Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob
Shanks said during a call to discuss Ford's first-quarter
results.

"We are starting around the world, not just in North
America, very selectively and very early to see some signs they
are taking advantage of that," Shanks said.
(Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)